


Rising Storm

by Vega_Tenala



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bumblebee - Freeform, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/F, Faked Death, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, May Get Darker, Possible Character Death, White Rose - Freeform, will add tags as I go along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-09-29 08:19:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17199932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vega_Tenala/pseuds/Vega_Tenala
Summary: Two pictures were on the screen. In one, there was a bright blonde-haired girl with distinctive lilac eyes, and in the other was a girl with immediately recognisable black-cat ears, black hair and amber eyes. Salem spoke, even though her words were not needed.“Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna. They are quite the thorns in his side, or so I hear. But the war in Vale has gone on long enough. It’s time for it to fall.”“They won’t surrender.” She stated resolutely.It's been six long years since Beacon fell, and three since Salem's Grimm overran the world. Three since they lost another one of their own. But things are about to change as Ruby returns from her training to end the Grimm threat once and for all...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to another season of "When will I post?"  
> Just kidding! Mostly. There may be discrepencies with my posting times as I head into my last semester of my degree. If you think I'm taking too long, please bug me and I'll do what I can. I don't want to end up leaving this because this fandom is driving me insane with creativity and ideas.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy the first chapter of "Rising Storm"!
> 
> This hasn't been beta'd, as a heads up.
> 
> Edit: So no-one gets lost. Ruby is 22, everyone else is 23-24

Weiss looked out of the window solemnly, her gaze reaching across the blackened, lifeless landscape in which her current residence resided with it’s red sky lighting everything in a bloody crimson glow that gave her chills. Though, she pondered if whether or not you could really call it her residence, after all, she wasn’t exactly there willingly. The window reminded her of that constantly, barred by iron, thrumming silently with power running through them, taunting her. Serving as a reminder that her glyphs, no matter how hard she tried, would never break through them. A look of disgust crossed her features as she caught a glimpse in the dimm light of the Grimm rising from the black pools below the Castle. It was too far for her to tell which Grimm were being created, but in reality it didn’t matter in the end. She couldn’t fight them without Myrtenaster, and even if she did and could, there were far too many to try. She would be overwhelmed eventually. There was also the problem of-...

“Contemplating the Universe again, Little Caged Bird?”

Cinder.

There were also Salem’s other lacks, at least one of them always being around and about. Cinder though was, out of all of them by far, the worst and most annoying. She was always coming up to taunt and tease her, trying to get under her skin, trying to get her to do something that would warrant her being punished for her behaviour. Perhaps it was out of boredom, or perhaps because it was some form of petty revenge against Ruby. Whatever the reason was, Weiss didn’t know. All she did know was that Cinder seemed to take some sort of terribly vindictive pleasure in angering her, or trying.

“What? Not going to respond Little Bird?”

“What do you want this time Cinder?” Weiss spat cuttingly, barely giving the older woman enough time to get her words out. She was feeling irritable, and already frustrated.

“Can’t I visit my dear friend?” Cinder smirked, the sarcasm in her tone coated her words like the amount of icing Ruby always put on cakes. Weiss took a shaky, calming breath but refused to turn to face her. The sound of heels slowly clicking closer hit her ears as the sarcastic tone dropped from Cinder’s voice, void of the taunting tone. “Salem wishes to speak with you, and she asked be to fetch you for her.”

“And she doesn’t have the legs to visit me herself?” Weiss let the snippy comment out without thinking, before she could stop herself. The snark and resentment in her voice was sure and certain though.

There was a moment of silence, punctuated by a click of heels before she felt her hair taken up in a harsh vice-like grip. Without the chance to fight back, her hair was ferociously yanked backward, pulling her backwards before her feet caught into each other. She yelped helplessly at the sudden pull. Cinder was smart enough to let go of her hair before she got to far, lest Cinder herself was brought down with her. She landed on the cold stone flooring on her back with a harsh thud and pained hiss as her body protested the treatment. She turned her head to glare at Cinder after she registered that she was on the floor. The Fall Maiden returned the look in kind, and Weiss could see the fiery weapon on her hand. It’s long shaft held deftly. She could feel the hot tip of the spear pressing against her right torso, on the scar that Cinder had given her four years prior.

The scar she had been given when she almost died.

The presence of the spear, and it’s location, caused her to freeze. Her angered glare melted off her features, turning into the look of concealed fear. The memory of the spear puncturing through her flesh brought a spike of phantom pain to reverberate throughout her body. Cinder had see the fear though, as much as she tried to hide it. It drew a satisfied smirk from her tormentor, who tilted her head. The sarcasm was back in her tone. “Now, are you going to cooperate? Or do I finally get to see how long you can stand being dragged around by your hair?”

“I-I’ll walk.” Weiss swallowed.

“Good.” The spear dissipated, replaced by a hand. Weiss brushed it aside in favour of stubbornly getting up on her own. Her bravado though, was gone. She rubbed her arm out of habit, looking down and away from Cinder who was quite amused by the action. “Come now, we shouldn’t keep her waiting.”

Weiss followed Cinder ruefully as she made her exit from the room, if you could really call it a room that is. Really it was a cell, and Salem even called it such usually. At least it was warmer than the halls, like the one they were walking through. She quietly followed Cinder through them. Each time she walked through the Castle, this occasion included, there were always the feelings of despair and hopelessness that lined the walls, seeping out of the cracked mortar and stones to penetrate her bones, trying to take ahold of her. Trying to get her to fear more than she already did. She felt a chill run down her spine as they walked, it was not uncommon but it was far less than when she had first been dragged through the halls. Her time in such a prison had served to strengthen her mental resilience to such feelings, She took a breath to steady her carefully build defences.

And before long, they were at the wooden doors of the meeting room.

The size of the doors obscured what kind for tree had been used for the wood, despite their lighter colouring giving her some idea. But Weiss has always gotten the distinct impression that she was probably wrong, and that they probably weren’t made out of any normal wood found on Remnant, or perhaps they weren't even really wood at all. She doubted if anyone here would tell her, she wasn’t exactly their ‘guest’ so they were unlikely to accommodate her questions about the place. She was still the enemy. If a caged one. Most of the time they preferred to gloat anyway.

The doors creaked open loudly as Cinder lead her into the meeting room, lined each side with candles on black-purple crystal podiums. It was unusually open. The table that had always sat in the middle , and all but one of the chairs were missing. It made the room seem so much larger. Salem sat on the only remaining seat, naturally. It’s dark purple crystals glinted in the light of the candles. She was flanked on either side, to her right was the damned Doctor and the left held the psychotic faunus that always gave her the creeps. He was grinning with those wild eyes that never failed to make her feel some measure of dread. She caught sight of his metal-capped tail, recalling that Ruby had cut it off, and the thought almost brought a smile to her face. But she’d been around long enough to know that keeping a neutral face at this point was probably the best idea. For once, she was glad that she’d needed to learn such a skill back in Atlas.

Cinder fell a few steps back to walk by her side for a moment as they made their way into the center of the room. As they got there, a hand rammed into her back, sending her flying forward, leaving her to fall onto the cold stone floor once more with a surprised yelp and harsh thud. To be safe she waited a moment before pushing herself up, getting to her knees before a hand stopped her from getting up any further. She raised her head to look at Salem, clenching her jaw at Cinder’s actions. Cinder always liked to try and humiliate her. After all, to many it was always a sight to see a Schnee on their knees.

“The Schnee Girl, as requested.” Cinder bowed her head somewhat to Salem in respect.

“So I see.” The Grimm Queen tilted her head, looking to Weiss and observing her before addressing her in turn. “This may be your lucky day, for a short while at least. Your assistance is needed.”

“If you think I’ll help you willingly, you-” Weiss began to spit before a blackened arm shot up from the floor without warning, the smell that always accompanied the grimm coming with it as it clamped itself around her mouth. Others launched up, sprouting like weeds to talk hold of her and keep her rooted in place.

“ _ Silence! _ ” there was a dark, disdainful and impatient growl in Salem’s voice. Her fuse was short that day it seemed. The faunus, Tyrian, was smiling maniacally at her predicament, clearly enjoying the show. “I care little for whether or not you are willing in this matter. But you  _ will _ behave yourself. I am giving you the courtesy of notice in this matter, and I do hope that I will not regret such a decision. Now, come the morning you will be taken to Vale. Your friends have been giving poor Adam Taurus a hard time, and you will be the one thing that ensures a quick and decisive surrender.”

The grimm hand removed itself from her mouth, giving her a chance to breathe properly. The mention of Vale, and Adam, had certainly caught her attention. Her mouth went dry at the mention of her ‘friends’. She didn’t know which ones exactly. So it was prudent to ask as she controlled her voice, keeping her words careful and deliberate. “What friends?”

Cinder pulled out her scroll, bringing up two pictures and placing it front of her eyes. Two pictures were on the screen. In one, there was a bright blonde-haired girl with distinctive lilac eyes, and in the other was a girl with immediately recognisable black-cat ears, black hair and amber eyes. Salem spoke, even though her words were not needed.

“Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna. They are quite the thorns in his side, or so I hear. But the war in Vale has gone on long enough. It’s time for it to fall.”

The scroll was put away as she looked back to Salem, a faint but hard-hitting rage sparking within her for the first time in a long time. It was a more powerful emotion than anything else she had felt since being brought here, except maybe fear. It bubbled and welled up inside. “They won’t surrender.” She stated resolutely.

“Perhaps not. But if that is the case, then you will be glad to know that we already have the medical equipment and supplies for when you are returned.” Fear joined the rage, quelling it to a point, before the woman continued. “Cinder, Emerald, Mercury and Hazel will make sure that you don’t run off, and if you do...I cannot promise that you’ll be unharmed when Tyrian brings you back.”

“I-...I won’t try anything.” She acquiesced, thankful for any time she could get away from this hell-hole. Even though it was a trap for her friends. But if she had a chance to get away, of course she would use it. She wasn’t entirely useless, not all of her skills had deteriorated while in captivity. At least, she hoped. But for now, she needed to play their game if she wanted out.

“I should hope now. You’ll be leaving early in the morning.” Salem waved her hand, the grimm appendages releasing her fully. She took the chance given to stand up and brush herself off as best she could. Not that it mattered much, her dress was tattered and torn, something she hated. But it was all she had.

It made her angry.

Salem clicked her fingers and the Doctor, Watts she recalled his name as being, stepped forward with leering eyes directed at Weiss as he immediately walked over to her. There was something a dark metallic colour in his hands as Salem spoke again. “Hold out your arm. I promise he doesn’t bite unless I tell him to.”

She hesitated for a moment or two, unsure, before holding out her left arm, no other choice available to her. He roughly took a hold of her wrist and clamped the item around it. It’s metal was cold, and the feeling it gave off was just utterly wrong. Salem’s emblem was etched into it, and looking at it made her nauseous as the Doctor stepped back to take his place by Salem’s side. 

“With that on, you have no access to your aura or your semblance. And it’ll take a lot to even try to get it off. Cinder, take her back to her cell before you and your disciples pack what you need.”

“Yes, Salem.”

Well, she thought bitterly, that was going to make things harder.

 

***

 

The metal glinted beautifully in the moonlight as the red-hooded girl held the weapon out, pointed deftly toward her opponent. Her left foot was forward, but not  _ that _ far forward as she waited for the right time to strike. Her opponent was good, one of the best even and definitely more than a match for herself. She was once a specialist after all, and who better to train her to use such a beautiful weapon than her?

The rapier in her hand, cold to the touch, was poised. There! She spotted the opening in the defences of her opponent that she was looking for. In a second she hand launched herself forward, pointing the tip of the weapon at the spot she was aiming for. Her feet were fast, her movements also so. But her opponent was moving as well, and she was stopped in her tracks by the ringing clash of metal against metal. The strike had been blocked by the opposing sword. Like lightning, both opponents pulled their weapons back and struck again, the red-hooded girl trying for a vertical, overhead strike, while hert pale atlesian partner blocked it with ease in a single horizontal movement.

So again their pulled their weapons back, and began moving their blades in a seemingly well-practiced dance on either side. Each probed the other for the weaknesses in their defences, hoping to find something to exploit. But each found no such weakness in the other. With each powerful strike no ground was gained, and with each masterful parry and block no ground was lost to to other. They mirrored each other, both patient in their strategies, perfectly predicting what the other would do. The one in red tried for a slash at the left leg of the one in white, only to find that the one in white was already there to block the strike.

It went on like that for the better part of hour. Strike. Block. Slash. Parry. Lunge. Sidestep. Over and over, again and again. Each moment, each movement, made the match more heated. But there was only so long they could continue like that. The one in white kicked back her opponent in the stomach quickly, pushing her red opponent back. With the first step of ground gained, she pressed into the attack, putting Red firmly on the defensive as White continued to rain down blows in her unstoppable ferocity. Red barely had the chance to defend, until a flick of White’s blade pulled her own weapon from her hand.

As quickly as the bout had begun, it had ended just so.

White sheathed her blade and nodded, proceeding to offer a hand to her fallen foe. “Well done Miss Rose, you’re  _ almost _ as good as I am.”

Ruby smiled a little, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Not like it used to. Not like before. But she took the hand and pulled herself up before she went to collect the rapier that had landed a few feet away, cleaning the hilt and blade of mud with a rag from her belt once it was in her hand. The weapon was stronger than it looked, and had served her well since it’s first owner had passed. Ruby looked at Winter and nodded. “I have a great teacher.” She sheathed the weapon on her left side before rejoining her friend.

“That you do.” She chuckled. “I heard you’re heading to vale tonight.” Winter raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Yang and Blake are preparing to take Adam down once and for all, they need me there and I wanna help.”

Winter nodded, her voice turning solemn. “It’s a good idea. It’s...it’s just a shame-”

“I know. I miss her to.” Ruby cut in gently, placing a comforting hand on Winter’s arm, rubbing it gently. She looked at the ground, thoughtful. “Do you think she’s happy? Where she is?”

“I hope so.”

Ruby sighed quietly, face falling as she thought of her fallen friend, her partner. “I wish...I wish she was still here. We could use her help right about now.”

“Well I could…” Winter tilted her head slightly. “I can come.”

“Thanks Winter.” Ruby focussed on the woman, smiling again. It still wasn't as bright as when she was younger, and her silver eyes now held a deep seated grief in them. “But you need to get back to Ironwood, you’ve been away too long and I need to do this with my...what’s left of my team.”

Winter sighed. Ruby was a stubborn as ever and, if the letters Weiss had sent them from their Beacon days were any indication, then she was just as stubborn six years ago as she was now, if more mature and very much taller. “If that is your choice. Good luck Miss Ro-...Ruby.” She held out her hand.

Ruby raised an eyebrow at the hand, as if it were a foreign object. Instead of taking it in her own to shake it, as Winter had intended, she stepped forward to bypass the hand completely and wrap Winter in a warm hug. The older woman was taken by surprise by the bold move, stiffening in insecurity for a moment at the unusual contact before managing to relax herself, and wrapping her arms around the shorter girl. It was awkward at first, but she enjoyed the contact. She hadn’t been hugged since-...

It didn’t matter. Weiss was gone. She was still here. So was Ruby. And Yang and Blake.

She let go of Ruby after a few long moments, prompting Ruby herself to let go, yet keep smiling at Winter. The hug had served to cheer them both up a little. It was something that the had both needed it seemed. She placed a hand on Ruby’s shoulder and patted it gently. “Go, or you’ll be late.”

“Be safe Winter.”

“You to Ruby Rose.”

 

***

 

It was fairly early in the morning when the ship arrived, with Yang and Blake waiting patiently atop the building designated for it to land on. They were both thankfully, Blake more so than Yang, that the White Fang stayed away from the Old City, where the crumbling buildings always had a chance to collapse on you if you so much as breathed the wrong way, and the resistance fight scouts and patrols took care of any potential intruders into the territory. At this distance, it was highly unlikely that they’d notice the Atlesian ship. Yang had her arm around Blake’s shoulder, keeping the cat-eared faunus close to her.

Ynag took a moment to appreciate the sunrise as the ships engines cut off, the door opening slowly. It had been three years since she had last seen her sister in person, and the last day they had seen each other had been a painful one for everyone. It was a day the blonde hated to recall, the pain for what they had all lost still stung as if it had been only yesterday. Losing Weiss had been hard on all on all, especially for Ruby. Blake had become quieter, Ruby had lost her gumption, Yang admitted that she had become angrier as they went through the motions.

She was thankful that Ruby had seemed to have moved passed at least some of what had happened, though the sketchy signal might have meant that she missed something important. A lot of what you could get from Ruby was physical, and a bad connection and a head shot didn’t give her much to go on in assessing her sister’s state. While the CCTs were almost gone, the only one left being in Atlas, Ironwood and what remained of the Alesian Military had stepped up to the plate, providing signal boosters to the various resistance movements that had sprung up after The Fall. It was a Godsend really, being able to communicate with Teams like CVFY and SSSN.  Especially considering the state of the world.

She was yanked out of her thoughts by the sudden and powerful smell of roses, as well as a heavy force crashing into them at high speeds. Strong arms wrapping around both her and Blake. Ruby was for sure faster than she recalled as the pair wrapped their arms around their youngest teammate. A warmth spread through Yangs soul as she felt her sister for the first time since The Fall. She knew Blake could feel it to. She could tell by the ears.

“I missed you both.” Ruby looked up at them with a small smile resting on her features. It didn't reach all the way, but at least was there. It still had some happiness.

“We missed you to Rubes.” Yang laughed, bringing her prosthetic arm up to ruffle Ruby’s hair playfully before pulling away.

“So. You needed me?” Ruby grinned, and Yang noticed Myrtenaster hanging from her left hip like it belonged there, while Crescent Rose was clasped on Ruby’s back under her cloak. In that moment, Yang knew how Ruby was coping with Weiss’ death, attaching herself to the Schnee’s weapon. She supposed it wasn’t the worst technique she could have acquired, and she always had liked weapons so it made sense. 

“Yeah.” Blake pulled herself from Yang’s grasp. “Adam is holding some sort of rally in the middle of town tonight, and he deliberately invited us. We believe it might be some sort of trap. Knowing him, it probably is. I still can’t believe he sided with  _ her _ .” Venom laced Blake’s tone as she finished her words. It was deep seated, soaked in hatred barely held back. Her cat ears were folded back, tips pointing up as anger overtook her for a moment before a hand tracing softly up her back returned her to reality. Yang tilted her head at the faunus and smiled comfortingly.

“We’ll get him.” She promised.

“I know.”

Their reunion was cut short as an impatient voice come through the pair’s earpieces, Jaune calling for them in a very slightly annoyed tone. “Is our mysterious guest here yet? We need to get this meeting started.”

Yang sighed, accompanied by a bored eye roll from Blake. It wasn’t the first time Jaune had tried to act in more of a leadership role with them, trying to be some sort of pseudo-leader in place of Ruby for what had quickly been named ‘Team Bumblebee’ after their combined attack. More often than not, the ignored him. Mostly when they were on small missions or where it wasn’t key to some sort of bigger plan. Neither of them were too thrilled with his attempts to take charge. Yang figured, as she handed Ruby and earpiece and synced it to her scroll, that they could let his impatience slide this one time in return for the look on his face when Ruby walked in. Blake seemed to have the same idea as a faint smirked worked its way onto her lips.

Ruby put the earbud in and nodded. “Ready.”

 

They lead Ruby a couple buildings away, the walk tiresome to those not used to it. There were more than a few stairs they needed to go down, but after everything Winter had put Ruby through, she doubted that even the walk up the building would have phased her. The bunker itself was underneath one of the less-stable looking buildings, something sure to keep any non-resistance scouts from snooping around. Even the White Fang were stupid enough to go looking in buildings that might crumble and fall at any possible second. If they were even able to reach it at all.

Inside, the Bunker was very spartan-like. A smart move, so they didn’t get attached if they needed to leave quickly. It took them a few twists and turns to reach their destination, a meeting room beyond some ominous looking rubble. Ruby guessed it was probably there to discourage any intruders that got this far. At the door, Ruby took a moment to calm herself before nodding to Yang, who proceeded to open the door and enter, followed swiftly by Yang.

The entrance of Team Bumblebee drew the attention of everyone in the room. Nora stood with Ren, leaning on the wall behind Jaune. She gave the team a friendly wave. Glynda Goodwitch stood off to one side of the table, and various other resistance leaders nodded to them a polite greeting.

Jaun pulled himself up to his full height, attempting to look more intimidating as he raised his eyebrow, looking at them. “I don’t see this mysterious guest you talked about.”

Yang couldn’t help the smirk that formed on her face, and even Blake couldn’t help a self-satisfied smirk. Jaune was confused for a moment, and Blake knew that none of them had any idea about who they had called in. Which meant for sure the White Fang didn’t either. A good sign. The partners looked at each other, Yang nodding once before they parted. Nora’s eyes widened, as did Jaunes while Ren managed to keep a mostly straight face. Glynda smiled a little as Ruby Rose stepped forward, her left hand resting on Myrtenasters pommel in a soft, reassuring grip. Her face, as Blake noticed, was harder than outside the room. Her back was straighter, and the atmosphere she gave off was different.

It seemed, the faunus reasoned, that combat was not the only thing that Ruby had learned about. She looked and felt every bit like a true leader. Someone that she knew Team RBY needed.

“So,” the Red Leader began, “what’s the plan?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see a little into Ruby's change as a person, and delve to a deeply painful memory of the past for everyone...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took so much self control not to post this early. This will contain the first of many flashbacks that will occur at points across the story. So if you're a little confused at this point, don't worry! All willl become clear int time!  
> Enjoy!

Ruby looked over the room, scanning those present with a deceptively critical eye, and finally letting her eyes settle on Jaune as his mouth moved as if he wanted to talk, with absolutely nothing coming out. His own eyes were wide, mostly out of shock. He hadn’t expected her, clearly, and chances are he probably couldn’t quite believe it either. Not even as Ruby stiffly walked up to the table, her posture and style reminiscent of the Atlesian Military as she turned her attention to survey the papers that were thrown haphazardly on the table. A map of the city was in front of Jaune, but it was not interesting to her. Not at that moment anyway as she chose to look at those gathered once again, though she only recognised Glynda and JNR. There were a few vaguely familiar faces, probably public officials from when they were at Beacon. Though the lack of familiarity, and as such trust, made her nervous and uneasy. But she swallowed the nervousness in favour of keeping up her act.

“What have you got so far?” She asked stoically, doing her best to ignore Jaune’s blatant and, quite frankly, rude staring. She had learned a lot about manners from Winter in their time training together, and staring as he was, was most definitely rude. When no-one answered the question, she frowned. “Nothing?”

“Ruby...I...what the hell?!” Jaune managed out, his eyes flickering between the remaining members of team RWBY. His voice was a mix between anger, disbelief and pain as he focussed back on Ruby, looking at her before his eyes were drawn to the weapon clipped to her side. “Where have you-”

“That’s not important right now Jaune.” She growled out as she channeled Winter as best she could, locking her hard silver eyes with his. She didn’t like having to play the harsh, no-nonsense leader but she knew in this case she had to. Jaune was distracted simply by her presence, and that wasn’t good, and if they entered battle it would be dangerous for the both of them. When her words registered, he looked taken aback by her tone, though in the spirit of fairness she accepted that it was quite odd for her to take the tone rather than Weiss or Yang. She looked to others around the table, then back to Jaune. “I will ask once more. What have you got so far for the plan?”

“I...w-well…” Jaune stammered before Ren cut in calmly, saving his leader further embarrassment.

“We’re scouted out the town square and surrounding streets. Adam already has people working on some sort of stage, so he’ll be going for some sort of spectacle I imagine. There’s a roof not to far away that gives both good cover and good visibility, if you wanted to take a ranged approach, but if you’d prefer there are various places to hide for a closer position and a bolder approach.” He smiled at Ruby. His calm was always reassuring, to all of them. Especially after Pyrrha. It was a small comfort. “As we don’t know exactly what his plans are. It was a agreed we’d keep the plan flexible to accommodate any last minute changes. There will be teams placed strategically within a short distance in three locations, and Snipers on some of the buildings.”

“Who’ll be coordinating everyone?”

“That will be me.” Glynda nodded, stepping forward right next to the table. She looked a little older, Ruby noticed. There was streaks of grat in her blonde hair, barely noticeable but definitely there. She also noted the weariness in the woman's eyes, it wasn’t there when she was at Beacon but now she could see the wish for this to be over with. Ruby didn’t blame her, from the reports she’d gotten, it had been a hard three years.

“Alright.” She paused. “Jaune stop staring.”

“But I-”

“Stop. Staring. It’s rude, and I am not a ghost or a freak or whatever you’re thinking about me right now.” She frowned at him, bringing her arms up and folding them neatly on her chest.

“I...look can we talk, in private?” He mimicked her pose, trying to regain some semblance of control in what, she assumed, was supposed to be his domain. She observed him for a second, attempting to mimic the look Winter gave anyone that wasn’t Weiss or herself. It must have worked on him, because he visibly paled before trying to back track. “I mean...we don’t-”

“Lead the way.” She interrupted him deftly, motioning him to start walking.

“Right, uh…” He brushed himself off, getting rid of dirt and dust that wasn’t there before he walked out of the door nearest to his left, Ruby making sure to follow quickly behind him. He lead them to a small room a few doors down from the meeting room. For the sake of posterity, she kept up her Winter impression as best she could. It was somewhat funny to see him as if his non-existent tail was between his legs.

The room was small, but suitable. She assumed it must have been his team’s room due to the presence of three very uncomfortable-looking beds and a weapons rack on the far wall, modified for each weapon, holding Magnhild, Crocea Mors and StormFlower. She didn’t fail to notice the photo next to the rack, held up by some bits of tape. It was Team JNPR, before the Fall of Beacon, with Pyrrha. It made Ruby visibly smile a little at the memories that tried to come flooding back before she looked back at Jaune, reaffirming her hard, neutral expression. He had his back to her as he too looked at the picture.

There was a tense feeling in the air, sparking and crackling with energy between the two leaders.

“So.” He began tersely, taking a slow breath to steady himself. “You’re here. Why?”

“Yang asked me to come.” She replied calmly, watching his reactions to her words carefully.

“She asked you before.”

“I wasn't ready.” Her words were quick and sharp on the end of his. She tilted her head at the moment of silence that came from him.

“I know...Weiss’ death-”

“It wasn’t just about that.” She cut him off, a slight viciousness to her tone, but also a barely concealed pain. The name of her partner riled up her emotions at the worst times, so it was a battle to keep her emotions in check. Grief. Anger. Hate. Shame. They were all fighting to get into her bloodstream. She moved her left hand back down to Myrtenaster, reminding herself that at least in one way, Weiss was still with her. It calmed her for the most part. So she managed to continue. “I couldn’t save Pyrrha, Jaune. I couldn’t save Weiss...or Penny. I refuse to fail in that mandate again. I couldn’t do that if I was still getting my...my ass handed to me in every fight. On top of that, yeah. Weiss dying, right in front of my eyes, it hurt me. Deeply. It ripped my soul to shreds. And I needed to deal with that, just like you needed to deal with Pyrrha’s death.”

“We needed you here, it was selfish!” He turned around sharply, stepping toward her. But she was already whipping Myrtenaster from its place on her side, gripping it tightly in her left hand. She was ready to get into a battle stance should she need to. Her eyes were daring him to come any closer to her.

“Would you have preferred it if I had gotten myself killed? Or Yang? Or Blake? Or Nora? Or even Ren? All because I was in mourning, feeling too reckless to care about anything? Weiss wouldn’t have wanted that. So yeah, Jaune, I chose to leave. For my safety. For my teams safety, and yours.” She took a deep breath as a tear began to crawl her cheek, her voice barely keeping from shaking. Not her, she couldn’t cry here. Only with her team, if she really needed to.  But not here. Not with Jaune. She had come too far to lose what progress she had made with her control. She would not break down here. “I was not going to get someone killed because I couldn’t handle losing someone else Jaune. I’m not that stupid. So go ahead, call me selfish. But remember that it’s selfish of you to want  _ me _ to put other people in danger because  _ you _ didn’t want to step up.”

“I...I understand Ruby.” He sighed. “I really do.”

“Good.” She lifted her arm, about to put Myrtenaster away when he started speaking again.

“But Ruby, you can’t just...stroll into my base like you own it-” He began, but he was cut off once more.

“But I did. Because Adam hurt  _ my _ team.” She looked up, taking a step toward him as her eyes flashed dangerously, pure anger surging into her veins. “He took the arm of  _ my _ sister. He hurt and traumatised Blake, a member of  _ my _ team. And he continued to hunt  _ my _ team. So please, tell me, why shouldn’t I come in and be the leader  _ my team _ needs right now?”

“That’s not what I-”

He didn’t finish the sentence, he didn't dare to. Myrtenasters blade was pressing against his throat, it wasn’t enough to cut the skin, but it was certainly enough to be a viable warning. One wrong more or word and he was certainly not getting out unscathed. The anger in her veins was burning in her eyes, warring with herself. He could see it clearly, Weiss’ death had affected in more ways than one.

“I have been training to protect what’s left.” Her voice trembled for a moment longer before she regained control of it, taking a breath. And another. She needed to calm down. A leader doesn’t let their emotions control them, not at a time like this. It would only come back to bite her in the backside if she continued down her emotional path. Anther breath, and she pulled the rapier away and sheathing it before she could do anything else that she might regret. “Your priority shouldn’t be questioning me, or wanting to establish...whatever you’re trying to establish Jaune. It should be making sure your plans will work. It should be seeing to the needs of the people under your command. It should be making sure that they’re ready for what might be the last fight of their lives.”

She turned toward the door and left the room without another word, slamming the door a bit too hard as she left. She strode quickly toward the meeting room, only to find Yang leaning against the wall outside of it, waiting for her. Without her even needing to say anything, Yang was already there, giving her a warm bear hug. She took a moment to calm herself, taking another breath before she could burst into tears, the memories from years gone by threatening to fill her mind.

“Can we go somewhere quiet? With Blake?” She asked into Yang’s shoulder, taking another deep breath. “I want to be with my team right now.”

“Of course Rubes.

 

***

 

_ 3 Years Ago… _

 

Ruby coughed dryly as she pushed herself to stand up. Crescent Rose had been tossed aside somewhere behind her, and her chest was flaring in pain like an Ursa had try to crush it. Well, it was sort of true. An Ursa had come flying into her just as she had turned to face it, and she was sure that the impact had cracked some of her ribs even with her Aura up, barely. Cinder stood opposite her, glass swords in her hands and pure murder in her eyes. The Fall Maiden stalked toward her.

She had a moment to glance around, to see how the rest of her Team was fairing exactly. Weiss and her Knight were holding the groups left flank well enough. The Grimm were being beaten back in single swings from the Knight’s weapon. Blake and Yang were fighting Adam, also managing to hold their own, much better than the last time. Yang hadn’t lost any limbs and Blake wasn’t badly hit. All of her teammates however looked quite drained. But the would survive.

Ruby however, was sure she wouldn’t get through this as Cinder’s eye began to burn with the orange glow of the Fall Maiden. Her own silver eyes could only do so much in The Land of Darkness, and Cinder was older than her. More skilled. They were barely evenly matched without the powers of the Fall Maiden in play, and with them Ruby was only just able to hold her own. For a short time anyway. 

Now here she was, her Aura almost drained, no weapon in her hand. Cinder wasn’t going to show her any mercy, that was clear as the older woman got in melee range with her weapons.

“You know,I thought you’d put up more of a fight.” Cinder growled in amusement, bringing her swords up before trying a obvious yet harsh strike at Ruby. The smaller girl jumped back, the edge of the blade nicking at the fabric of her clothing, causing a small hold to appear. Cinder smirked. “Scared yet, Little Red?”

“You wish.” Ruby took a quick breath to steel herself, and charged. Her semblance gave her an edge as she dove at Cinder’s waist, tackling her roughly. It took Cinder by surprise at least as they hit the ground with a loud thud. It was enough to disorientate the older woman, to the point that her eye stopped glowing for the moment while Ruby secured position on top of her. Before Cinder had the chance to recover, RUby was launching a hard punch to her face, silently thanking Ozpin and Yang for the lessons on a good punch before balling up her other fist, and slamming it down onto Cinder’s face as well. She hit her again, Cinder’s Aura starting to flicker as it near’d it’s limit. It only prompted Ruby to hit again. And again. And again. 

Even as Cinder’s Aura fell, she kept hitting. She was at an advantage, and she needed to keep Cinder down. So kepting hitting her, trying to make each punch as hard as she could. Even if there was blood, red blood, running from from Cinder’s nose. Blood that was red, red like summer roses in full bloom. But Ruby didn’t care that Cinder was bleeding. She didn’t care about Cinder, period. Because Cinder had hurt people. And she could see it, in her mind's eye, one of them. She could see Weiss’ prone form at Haven, blood on her dress and a hole in her body. So she brought her fist down again on Cinder’s defenceless face. And again.

Cinder wasn’t going to hurt Weiss again.

Cinder wasn’t going to hurt anyone again.

Cinder wasn’t going to hurt anyone EVER again.

Her opponent was unable to defend herself as the hits rained down on her face, her arms never having the chance to make it to her face. The punches were coming to face to put anything resembling a defence up. So instead, she went for Ruby’s arms, managing to get a rough hold on the girls biceps so that she had a guide to Ruby’s wrists. It was better than aimlessly grasping and hoping to would catch her. She managed to clamp down on Ruby’s ever-moving wrists and pull the arms apart, stopping the assault. It was enough. Cinder shifted her leg to push Ruby off and rolled the pair of them over. She quickly got on top of the smaller girl, pinning her down. Despite the blood running from her mouth, nose and cheek, she smirked wickedly. More so as the blood dropped onto Ruby’s face, staining her.

“You really thought that would stop me?” Her eyes gained that dangerous orange glow once more.

“ _ Ruby! _ ” A voice called, fear lacing it’s tone. Cinder’s growing smirk turned cold as she to heard the voice. She moved Ruby’s arms, so that they were pinned under one hand. 

“You care about her, right?” Ruby felt something sharp press into her abdomen, cutting a short way before it was pulled out violently. The pain instantly gripped her, making everything hazy as Cinder brought up the bloodied dagger and whirled it in front of Ruby's face. “I wonder what will happen if I kill her?”

Ruby shook her head frantically as she pushed up with her arms, even though it didn’t get her anywhere. So she pushed again, but again it did nothing. Cinder couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her. “Cinder...please…”

“Oh, we’re begging now huh? Do it again.”

“Don’t. Touch. Her.” Ruby growled out. It was an empty threat, she was bleeding from her side, Aura gone and currently pinned down. But she was angry. 

“ _ RUBY!”  _ The voice was louder, fully fearful now as footsteps, rushed and worried, ran toward the pair of them. Ruby could only turn her head to watch as Weiss ran toward them. She was battered and bruised from fighting with the Grimm, but she was still ready to fight. And Cinder was glowing in manic energy as she glanced to the worried Weiss, the devil was in her eyes. Even as Weiss, venom in her tone, yelled at Cinder. “ _ Get away from her! _ ”

“You love her? Hmm that’s going to make this so much more fun.” Cinder cackled as she stood up to face Weiss, who had come to a stop a few feet away. She held out her hands, forming two new swords in them. They glowed for a few moments before it faded. “Let’s make this quick.”

“No. Cinder...Don’t.” Ruby tried to get up, bust as she got to her side she could only collapse as pain shot through her again, forcing a yelp of pain out, her hand instantly going to her side, clutching it as she tried to slow the bleeding. She could feel the warm liquid, flowing freely. It was red on her hand, on the fabric of her clothing, on the ground. Red like roses, fully in bloom. She felt her eyes burning with power as she tried once last time to focus on Maria’s lessons. To think about what she wanted to protect. She wanted to protect Weiss, and Yang, and Blake. She wasn;ted to protect Oscar and JNR. She wanted to protect her father. She felt them begin to shine with the bright white purifying light. But Cinder had already turned back. 

Before the light could flood out too far, something heavy impacted the back of her head, throwing off her concentration. Her vision went fuzzy, and the world she could see started to spin. She didn’t know when the clashing started, but she could hear the ringing clinging of weapon on weapon. She forced herself to focus on the world. She focussed on the source of the noise. It was in front of her, two figures, one white and gray fighting black and red and orange. They were pushing against each other, two weapon against one. She narrowed her eyes, managing to sharpen her vision.

Weiss was engaging Cinder, Myrtenaster pushing down against Cinder’s swords, locking the two combatants together. Weiss’ face was that of fury as she pushed again and jumped back, pulling her weapon into a defensive position.

Ruby tried to move again, but the pain in her abdomen was too much, stopping her before she could do more than turn a little.She could only watch as Weiss and Cinder began their deadly dance of skill and blades. Weiss was holding her own as she used her glyphs to dart around, keeping away from Cinder’s attacks, even though her own never made it through Cinder’s defences. For a few moments, it looked as though Cinder was genuinely worried Weiss might get through as the ex-heiress recklessly ducked under one of Cinder’s swings. As she come out the other side, Ruby could just make out the cut on Cinder’s dress and the blood faintly seeping. It wasn’t a deep cut, but it was something. 

Weiss came to her knees as she plunged Myrtenaster to the ground immediately after, while Cinder registered the attack. Ruby could just make out the two Glyphs that appeared. A mighty crack sounded throughout the area as the ground split open, if only a few feet apart. Cinder stumbled before diving to the side with a thud and a hiss. Cinder growled as she stood up, watching as Weiss did the same, but more weary this time. The attempt hadn’t done much, only taken it out of her, but Ruby was sure that if Weiss was at full strength she could have managed it.

But she wasn’t.

And now Cinder was pissed.

“Nice try Ice Queen. But you’ll need to do better than that.” She launched herself at Weiss in the next moment. Ruby could only watch in fear.

 

Weiss pulled her weapon from the ground, standing up slowly. Her breathing was heavy as she tried to pay the oxygen debt that had built up from that attempt. She was tired. So tired. But she wasn’t going to give up. So she stood and turned to face Cinder. The older woman’s face was a mask of anger. Weiss bravely got into her defensive position, gripping Myrtenaster. She squared her shoulders pulling them back with her blade pointing deftly at Cinder, her left foot was forward, but not  _ that _ far forward, as she waited for the right time to strike. She wasn’t stupid though. Her opponent was good, too good. Of course she was. But Weiss knew she  _ had _ to be better. Because if she wasn’t, Ruby was going to die here. And that was something she absolutely could not allow.

Her Aura was far too low, and she estimated she could take one or two more hits if she was lucky, but after that she was on her own. She wasn't strong enough to try separating the ground again, and her first attempt was more out of desperation than anything else. She had to end the fight quickly, but Cinder had a lot more endurance than she did, and far more experience. Not to mention the Maiden Powers were still in play.

“Nice try Ice Queen. But you’ll need to do better than that.” She launched herself at Weiss in the next moment, the Atlesian managing to bring her blade up to block the vertical strike with a fortuitous stroke of luck before pushing back, throwing Cinder back a step.

“You can count on it.” Weiss spat back as she aimed a horizontal slash at Cinder’s midriff, forcing the woman back another step. She took a step forward as she went to press the attack, only to stop as a blade came swinging at her from her left. In a second, her weapon was up, blocking it. She stepped back as Cinder used her second blade in another slash against her, surrendering the ground she had gained. It was only by luck that the blade skimmed the fabric of her dress, and nothing else. But it was enough. Cinder pushed forward, pressing her advantage to keep Weiss on the defensive. The former heiress didn’t have the chance to counter, instead having to keep up her defence as she blocked and parried blow after devastating blow.

She took a step back toward Ruby, needing space to keep her defence up. And another as Cinder pressed forward lethally. She was only a few steps from Ruby when Cinder maneuvered her own weapons, pulling Myrtenaster from her grasp. The blade landed next to Ruby, just out of arm's reach as the younger girl looked on. The next thing Weiss knew, a black, gnarled grimm arm was closing around her throat, finishing off whatever was left of her aura as she tried to grip it and pull, anything to get it off of her. But it wasn’t working. It was Grimm. 

“So, this is how it ends.” Cinder taunted, making sure that they could all see each other. Weiss was helpless as the hand squeezed a little, slowly cutting off her air flow. Cinder looked at Ruby wickedly as the younger woman tried and failed to get up. “You watching her die before your eyes, and unable to stop me even with your eyes. Quite...poetic don’t you think?”

“Weiss…” Ruby gasped out as she collapsed to the ground in pain once more. She looked at Cinder, pleading. “Please…”

“Ruby…” Weiss choked.

“Pathetic.” Cinder sneered as she swung her grimm arm around, throwing Weiss to the approaching Grimm. Ruby saw her fly back to where she’d been defending against the Grimm, near a purple crystal formation. Her breathing sped up as she began to panic. Weiss’ summon wasn’t there, and she knew it . Weiss had no protection as she tumbled and rolled after hitting the ground, her form limp and unmoving as she finally came to a stop. And then the Grimm stated to swarm toward her, and Ruby couldn’t take it anymore.

She couldn’t control the outburst as she screamed out Weiss’ name. She wanted those Grimm away from her. She wanted to protect Weiss to the last breath. She wanted to save her where last time she had failed so utterly. To save Weiss where once she had lost Pyrrha. And her eyes shone with light, pure and blinding in its power. Consuming and destroying any and all Grimm that were unfortunate enough to be within range. Dissipating them into nothing, returning them to the hell-ridden void from whence they came.

When the light had faded, Cinder was already being dragged back by Emerald and Mercury. Ruby glanced back at Blake and Yang, who were running toward her. Adam was nowhere to be seen, apparently having disappeared. And last, she looked toward where Weiss should have been, ignoring the pain as she moved.

But Weiss wasn’t there. In her place there were only a few torn rags so clearly from her dress.

“Weiss…” She whispered.

No.

Weiss was gone.

She had failed.

 

***

 

Ruby was snuggled up between Yang and blake on the roof, sleeping quietly despite it being the middle of the day. The sky was a mix of varying shades of gray, but Yang trusted that Blake was right and that it wouldn’t rain. It was the last thing they needed while they were lying there, on a makeshift bed on some dusty, old neglected quilt. Yang sighed quietly a she looked down at her sleeping sister. It was so easy to forget that the younger girl was in her early twenties now, and no longer in her mid to late teens like when they had first become a team. She still looked so small, and the red puffy eyes from where she had been crying made her look so much younger still. It almost made Yang forget how much they'd been through.

Almost.

They’d all had signs of crying, the red eyes and runny noses. How could they not have cried? Weiss’ death ahd stuck them all to the very core. She may have been Beacon’s resident Ice Queen, but she had still been their best friend and their teammate. Yang was certain that she had lived up to the promise of ‘Best Teammate Ever’. Losing her had been like losing a huge chunk of their souls, how could they not cry over it. None of them had truly had the chance to mourn their lose. Ruby perhaps, but knowing her she buried it for the most part. And Yang couldn’t help but be reminded of how much Ruby had changed since they’d last seen each other.

Blake had agreed, after Yang had recounted the incident with Jaune from earlier. Ruby never used to be so aggressive, and for her to be so with someone who used to be one of her closest friends was telling of her emotional condition.

Blake looked up at Yang, quietly observing her. “You’re brooding. I thought that was supposed to be my thing.” She at least tried to tease her blonde partner, feeling quite proud when the joke managed to draw a quiet scoff from the blonde.

“I’m not brooding. I’m just...thinking.” Yang frowned as she continued to look at Ruby.

“You’re worried about tonight?”

“No. Well… yeah. But it’s not just that. I’m worried about Ruby.” She moved her right arm to very gently brush through Ruby’s hair. She couldn’t feel it, but seeing herself brush her hand through the short, yet surprisingly well kept, mane of her sister was calming in itself. “She should never have had to deal with all this. When all this started, she was just a kid-”

Blake brought her arm up to rest on the fleshy part of Yang's arm as she interjected, “-we all were Yang. We has no idea that we were going to get caught up in this. But life...it isn’t fair. And Weiss… Weiss didn’t deserve that. Neither did Pyrrha. But they’re… they’re gone Yang. And we have to keep going or their sacrifice would have been for nothing. Like Oobleck said, this is a job. And we all signed up for it. All we can do now is stop others from hurting like us.” She smiled a little. It was sad, and a little forced, but at least it was a fair attempt. One that Yang managed to return in kind, nodding quietly.

“You’re right. We can’t dwell.”

“We can learn though. And we have, we’re stronger now. We’ll avenge them both.”

“I hope so. I want to make sure that Cinder never hurts anyone else, ever again.” Yang growled out.

Blake nodded as she looked down at Ruby, sighing quietly. She didn't want to wake the sleeping girl, but she had to. They had to get ready, and something told her it was going to be a very tought evening, for all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter peeps! If you spot any mistakes, please do not hesitate to point them out and I would love any feedback you have so far!
> 
> Next Week: Weiss finds that not everything is what it seems with one of her captors, and a glimpse into her first solo meeting with Salem.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss recalls her first meeting with Salem, and there's an unexpected surprise in store

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> It's now been fully edited, have fun :)

The ship was too cold, at least for her taste, even if hr atlesian heritage gave her an advantage in cold environments. But it didn’t help that her captors hadn’t let her change out of the tattered and torn clothing that stuck to her skin, a breeze continuously passing through the holes in the frayed fabric in just the right way to make her shiver periodically. While the metal bench she’d been sat on had long since warmed up, the edges around her position were unequivocally cold to the touch still, so every slight shift in the wrong direction or if the ship moved in the wrong way moved her once more onto cold metal. Just like the metal she rested her back against.

She looked up once more to the rope that held her wrists above her head, hanging from a hook, it wasn’t too tight this time which was always a plus, but after simply letting her arms hang rather than hold them up the rope was beginning to chafe her small wrists. Gods knew why they decided to hang her up as if she was a piece of meat, perhaps it was a way to remind her this wasn’t her way out, or maybe Cinder just wanted to torment her further. It was unnecessary, even Hazel had said so. Not that Cinder listened to him, she never did. Rarely did she take anyone who wasn’t Salem seriously. She recalled having to comfort _Emerald_ of all people after Cinder had been especially vindictive one morning. She didn’t particularly like Emerald (she didn’t exceptionally _dislike_ her either), but she wouldn’t wish such treatment on anyone. Such abuse of trust and feelings was something no-one should ever have to suffer through.

Weiss was immensely thankful that it was Emeralds turn to guard her anyway. Within a month of her arrival at the castle, Emerald had lost most of her rude and distasteful behaviour. So it was an almost comfortable silence that had engulfed them. Almost. And air of awkwardness had always remained with them, and Weiss wasn't surprised considering what happened at the Vytal Tournament and the at Haven, especially considering Emeralds involvement with Penny’s destruction and Yangs disqualification from it. As it turned out, death and near-death experiences really do tend to put a dampener on potential conversation.

So Weiss was content to let their time pass quietly.

“Do you need the restroom?” Emerald asked quietly, awkwardly. Her words made Weiss pause for a second, not expecting to be asked anything. The question was indeed quite random and sudden. But when Weiss looked up at the woman, she saw that Emeral was flicking her eyes to the other side of the ship where Mercury was sat with his tools, giving his leg a tune up. She wanted something.

“Uh...yeah.” Weiss nodded once.

“You’re really giving her the benefit of a bathroom trip?” Mercury peered over to them, sneering lightly. His voice carried the disdain he always carried for Weiss. It never failed to make his face look even more punch-able. She swore internally that one day that either she would punch him, or gladly give Yang the honour.

“I just don’t want to clean up if she pees everywhere.” Emerald shot back before unhooking Weiss from the wall.

The removal of pressure from her wrists gave her instant relief, her reddened skin crying out happily, blood rushing back into her tingling fingers. She rubbed her wrists as best she could to try and get the circulation back into her hands while she follow Emerald to the, somewhat lacking, toilet facilities on board. It wasn’t much at all, a small room with two cubicles and a sink. Emerald carefully took off the roope, making sure not to hurt Weiss’ wrists any further, before she directed her to the least useless of the cubicles and letting her close and lock the door, not caring as to Weiss’ personal business.

“So, how badly do you want to get out of here.” She asked. Her voice was quiet enough that anyone beyond the door wouldn't be able to hear, but loud enough for Weiss to hear her.

“What?” Weiss asked in slight confusion.  
“You heard me. How badly do you want to escape this hell Salem has us trapped in?” She gruffed back.

The Schnee thought for a moment. “As long as I don’t die in the process.”

“Yeah that….that would put a downer on things.” Weiss heard a hollow chuckle from Emerald. “Look, I owe Cinder everything. But you...you’ve been good to me. More than she had in some ways. You don’t deserve this...a-any of this. I…”

“Emerald?” Weiss came out of the cubicle after finishing her business, moving over the sink and wash her hands. She savoured the feel of the cool clean water as she looked over to the other woman.

“I want to help you. Escape I mean. Without your Aura or your Semblance you won't get very far if you try to make a break for it. But I know how to unlock you cuff, and you can escape into the city and find your friends.” Emeralds looked down as she finished her sentence, fiddling with her hands nervously. The idea made her uncomfortable Weiss realised, she both did and didn’t want to go through with it, most of the conflict likely coming from her feelings regarding Cinder. And yet here she was, doing it anyway. “The residue left over after a Grimm dies unlocks it. I… I even…”

Weiss dried off her hands before leaning on the side. Her eyes drifted down to her arm, and the cuff that was clamped firmly around her wrist. It’s black metal had remained cold the entire time that it had been on, and it’s strange weight was Weiss still had yet to get used to. She barely noticed Emerald reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small vial. When it caught her eyes, Weiss looked at it and it’s blackened contents curiously.

“You collected some?”

“Yeah. I figured you could hide it somewhere, I think they’re planning on roughing you up a bit before showing you off, so I don’t know if you’re hair will be able to hide it.” Emerald held it out to her, but she refused to make any sort of eye contact with Weiss. Something told the ex-heiress that Emerald was being genuine in her gesture so, against her better judgement, she reached out slowly and took the vial into her own hand, turning it over as she inspected it. She knew where to hide it, hopefully.

“Thanks Emerald.”

 

Once the vial was safely hidden away, and Emerald was extremely glad that Weiss never told her where she’d hidden it exactly, the rope went back on, though perhaps a little bit looser than last time. It was a refreshing change from the close tightness from before. But even as she was hooked back onto the wall, Weiss felt a bit lighter. Wisely she chose not to show it, otherwise Cinder or Mercury would start asking questions, and Mercury was already a pain in the ass.

The pair resumed their quiet routine once they were both settled. Weiss was glad it was quiet, or at least it would be for a short while. She would relax, theoretically. It most certainly wasn’t a good idea to let her guard down, not after getting a black eye after the last time she had been stupid enough to do so. But from her position she could at least see out a small sliver of the from window. The light that she could see was obviously the light early morning sky, something that she had greatly missed looking at, and something she missed waking up to. There were faint oranges and yellows bouncing on the clouds from a Sun she couldn’t see. The clouds seemed to be getting darker, denser, bigger as they continued their journey toward what used to be Vale Airspace.

It would be nice to see the outside world again, at least for a short while. Even if her chance at freedom fail or, worse yet, never came at all. But the risk of her running was always going to be there, and they knew it. And she had the risk of failing if she did decide to try her luck. She knew that there must have been something of a slim chance of succeeding, but it seemed that Salem in her infinite wisdom had decided that the risk was too small to worry about. Perhaps it was simply another way for her to prove that in the end, she owned Weiss, that she held the dominance in their dynamic. What better way to crush her spirits that offer the tiniest glimpse of freedom and hope, then make it disappear into nothing?

The Witch was always playing some sort of game. It was like chess, each move perfectly calculated to bring what she wanted to her.

And just when you thought that you’d won, suddenly everything was snatched from beneath you.

 

***

 

_2 Years and 11 Months ago…_

 

The hallway made her shiver in cold, fearful anticipation as she was lead through it’s shadow-lined walls. The black stood stood imposing either side, taunting her with their strength and might. They told her as she passed that she would never escape their clutches, that she would be here forever, or eternity. Whichever was last. She felt small in this place, like the Mansion she grew up in, the ceilings always taller than they needed to be, doors larger than required. A corrupted version of a grandiose effort. She was quite sure that, even in the privacy of the cell she had been lumped in, she was never truly alone. Something was hidden within the aging cracks of the walls, the crumbling mortar.

From what she could guess, her prison must have been very large, if the height of the hallways or the size of the windows and doors were anything to go by. Briefly, she wondered just how big it was. Had their attack succeeded then they surely would have gotten lost in the apparent labyrinth, trying in vain to navigate their way around. Perhaps Blake could have helped with her ears and eyes, but then something niggling at the back of her mind told her that was doubtful.

The thought of Blake made her wince. Just how long had she been held here? She had no clue. The days since she’d arrived had meshed together. The lack of change in the skies made it hard to tell the time of day simply from looking through the window, and meals were about as consistent as blizzards happening in Vale. If she had to guess, it was over a month at least, enough for her to be fully healed from her other injuries obtained from the attack.

Emerald was the one leading her through the cold halls, not even bothering to look back and makes sure that the ex-heiress was still following, even as they approached a light wooden door, the metal fittings making it look far more imposing that what it would have looked otherwise. The green-haired girl turned at the last second to look at Weiss with vaguely disinterested eyes.

“Good luck.” She gave the other girl a half-hearted smile, attempting to be somewhat friendly, before opening the door.

Weiss swallowed nervously as she took a tentative step through the doorway. The room she entered wasn’t anywhere near as large as the meeting room she’d been taken to the last time she was out of her cell. In comparison, this room was really rather quaint. The crimson sky still gave it that heinous red-tinted glow, but it was almost warmer in it’s feel. Almost. A chess table sat off to the left side against the wall, while the middle of the room held a round, dark crystal table that held the same glow as it’s larger counterpart from the meeting room. Naturally, on a superfluous designed crystal seat, Salem sat regally. Her eyes were on Weiss the moment she entered the room.

And once she was out of the door, it was closed with a suddenly and loud clunk, making the girl jump in surprise of the noise in the amazingly quiet room. She stood there awkwardly. For all of the numerous lessons her upbringing had given her,  none of them had ever covered the topic of conversing civilly with a captor as they looked at her like she was prey. All she could do was nervously fiddle with her hands and desperately avoid eye contact with the woman who was the very reason she couldn’t have a perfectly normal life, at least as normal as you could get as a Huntress.

“You seem...nervous.” Salem spoke. Her voice was neutral, her face giving nothing away. Weiss looked up slowly, almost daring herself to look, as she made eye contact with the red eyes that gazed upon her. Weiss stayed quiet, unsure, before she was unable to keep looking and lowered her head down a little, like a small nervous child. “Speak, Child. You are scared, are you not?”

“I…” Weiss took a steadying breath. “I am.”

“Hm, at least you admit it. There have been many of those that, even before me, have denied their fear to the very end.” She dragged a blackened, corrupted nail across the table top, almost bored with their conversation. She motioned to the seat on her right. “Cinder has told me much about you Weiss Schnee. Please, sit.”

Weiss hesitantly took a slow step forward. Feeling a little more confident when nothing bad happened, she walked around to the gnarled wooden chair that had been offered and daintily sat down as if she were in some meeting in Atlas. Ankles crossed, hands resting together on her knees, chin up. They were the lessons that came easy to her still. The chair was in close proximity to the Grimm Queen, within touching distance. A chill ran up Weiss’ spine as she felt the eyes of the woman continue to appraise her. A hand took her left in it’s own. She watched as the red and black veined hand turned hers over and around, manipulating it to give Salem a better look.

“Strong, calloused from your weapon. I saw your fights at the Vytal Tournament. You were impressive to be sure. Your use of your semblance was impressive.” She smiled, it seemed warm for the most part, like any smile Weiss would have gotten at Beacon. But underneath she knew it was nothing of the sort, a trick. It was calculated, like one given by and Atlesian Aristocrat trying to get into her father's good graces.

“Thanks.” Weiss replied after a moment, hesitant as she tried to look up a bit more at the woman again, managing not to break eye contact for a second time after it was made.

Salem put the arm down before lifting her own up, cupping Weiss’ cheek. The Huntress froze as she felt the cold, deeply unnatural skin make contact with her own. Her entire body tensed as fear flooded her system in nanoseconds. She inhaled sharply, and Salem’s smile turned into a dangerous, predatory smirk as the reaction her hand had elicited. Her let a nail tickle and trace it’s across Weiss’ skin, it’s sharp knife-life edge threatening to cut into her cheek if she moved the wrong way.

“Tell me, Weiss Schnee, what is it that you desire most in this world? Think a moment if you must.”

The younger girl swallowed hard as she thought on the question, pushing away the face that immediately came to mind. Other than that, what she wanted wasn't up for debate. So she forced herself to mull up the courage to speak. “I want to leave.”

She whispered quietly as a nail bit sharply into her skin, just on top of her jaw, and inch or two below her ear. As the nail removed itself. She could feel a wetness begin to well up and drop from the small cut, a line of blood beginning to run down her neck. Salem’s expression morphed into one of displeasure before her hand trailed downward to rest on the curve of Weiss’ neck.

“That isn’t what I meant.” Salem sighed before tilting her head. “We’re alike, you and I. More than you know.”

“We’re nothing alike.” Weiss bit out through her fear.

“Really? Is that so?” Salem’s hand applied the smallest amount of pressure to her neck, but it was enough. Weiss stiffened a little. It was a threat, a reminder not to speak out of turn again. Weiss felt her heart thump heavily in her chest, she couldn’t afford to speak so brazenly any further. She let Salem continue. “We were both locked away from the world, controlled by our fathers. Pawns in a game that we could never control. In our own ways we were freed, and we saw the world for ourselves. I imagine that dear Ozpin told you about out past?”

“Not...Ozpin.” Weiss responded quietly.

“Ah, it was Jinn from the relic then I presume. Not matter. So, am I wrong? Are we not alike in some ways? Speak up child.”

“No, you’re not wrong.”

“I thought not.” Salem’s displeasure evaporated, replaced with her fake smile once more as she removed her hand from Weiss’ throat. “I ask you again. What do you desire most? Who do you wish revenge against? What do you wish to gain? Your father, dead for all he put you through? Your brothers head on a spike sot taking what was rightfully yours? Do you want power? To be feared? To be stronger than those who would oppose you? I can give you all of this, and so much more.”

“Why are you offering me this?” Weiss asked, the hesitation clear in her voice.

“Does it matter?” Salem raised an eyebrow.

“It does to me.”

The immortal nodded once. Weiss watched her eyes dart to the side for a moment, and then back to the ex-heiress with a glint. It wasn’t dangerous per se, but Weiss recognised it as one her father’s business partners used to get when they believed they had acquired the upper hand in a deal, or a way to outmaneuver their rivals. Salem spoke again, changing the topic. “Tell me, do you play chess?”

“I used to.”

Salem stood up slowly, as if she were true royalty, before proceeding to practically glide over the stone floor to the chess board and sit down. If it wasn't for the click of her heels, Weiss would have believed she really was gliding.

“Come.”

Weiss obeyed, without trying to rush over there. She looked at the board after sitting herself down, resuming her previous posture. It was almost poetic when she notice that she was apparently going to be playing the white pieces, and Salem as the black. Weiss observed the board for another moment before she looked back up to Salem.

“Let’s see how well you play then.”

 

“Checkmate.”

It was after what must have been several hours of overly intense quiet play that Salem had declared her win. Weiss was shocked for a moment. She knew that she was off her game somewhat, considering that it had taken roughly ten moves each way for her to gain any more of her terribly low confidence, but the brutal way in which she had utterly decimated Weiss after what looked to have been simply leading her around the board was unbelievable.

“But I...how…?” Weiss stuttered quietly.

“I always win in the end Weiss. I’ve been playing this game for a very long time, and I know how it ends. How it always ends. I suggest you keep that in mind, as well as my offer.” Salem stood up and made her way toward the soo. She didn't look back until she was at the threshold, her eyes glowing a faint red as she looked to Weiss once more. “Enjoy your evening.”

And with that, she was gone.

 

***

 

Weiss winced as she exited the ship, Cinder pulling her along like a dog by her rope. The light was hitting her in full, and even if the day was terribly overcast, it was more natural daylight she had bathed in that she had within the past three years. It assaulted her eyes, a feeling she dare say that she’d missed, nothing like the faint and soft morning sun she had experienced through a sliver of window earlier. The light was harsh and heavy, forcing her eyes shut until the could fully adjust, but she didn’t care. It was nice to feel the light on her skin. They had little chance to adjust though. Within moments she was hastily rushed into a boarded up building, where the wonder natural light was blocked out and the room she was dragged into lit by shoddy, dim lighting that was barely able to properly illuminate the space.

She wasn't surprised when Cinder threw her to the ground roughly. The concrete was cold, unsurprisingly, as her knees made heavy contact. From the stinging, she guessed they were probably grazed by the impact. Something told her that grazed knees would be the least of her troubled before night fell on Vale.

“Well Well Well, what do we have here?” An amused voice taunted her from above, malice lacing her tone. “And a Schnee no less. You came through after all.”

Weiss looked up as Cinder replied. “Salem doesn't go back on her word, you know that.”

Adam Taurus smiled down at Weiss, her eyes meeting his. “I certainly do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> Next Week: Weiss learns first had why Blake left the White Fang, and the long awaited reveal is at hand...


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss learns first hand why Blake hates Adam so much, and Ruby takes the lead on a daring mission...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peeps, welcome to chapter four. It gave me some trouble for a while there but I managed to get my head around it. I hope you guys enjoy it!!

Weiss spat the bloodied saliva that had filled her mouth out off to the side. There was no use in deliberately spitting it at the foul faunus in front of her. She could feel the cut on her lip oozing blood, and the throbbing of her jaw didn’t help. It was reasonable to suspect that her jaw might be fractured or broken somewhat, but only time would tell on that front and she seriously doubted that she would get too much time to check up on such injuries at any point soon. She grimaced at the metallic, bloody taste that coated her mouth.

She pulled at the rope that bound her wrists. Being tied to a pole in an abandoned building, surrounded by people that would most certainly just love to slit her throat without any sort of remorse wasn’t really all that high on her bucket list.It could have been so much worse she supposed, but then again by far it could have been so much better than this. She’d heard Blake’s stories about Adam, and thus his hatred for her own family in particular. 

With his mask off, the SDC brand across his left eye was clearly visible even in the limited light. She understood his hatred for the Schnee family, she really did, especially with that staring her in the face, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to be sick each second she looked at it. It was a horrible reminder of how her father had built their family up, and what she had wanted to change in Atlas, and why she had learned to hate her fathers very questionable ethics. And now she was paying the price for his inane stupidity.

Before she had lifted her head back up properly, Adam’s fist was slamming back down onto her face, and this time her nose took the full force of the impact. Even though she tried valiantly to keep quiet and not give them the satisfaction of her suffering, the pain that sprung from her nose at the collision caused her to yelp. In seconds she could feel the warm blood beginning to drip from it. She chose the better part of valour and started breathing through her mouth to avoid any more pain than she needed to endure, on the chance that it would be a very bad idea to continue breathing through her nose.

She didn’t care anymore that she could taste the blood, it wasn’t as if the taste was unusual to her at this point. Just annoying. She could hear the chuckling from around her, and that left a bitter, sour taste in her mouth, like the ruby red blood that coated her tongue, to know that they were highly amused by her pain. Part of her knew that they were just angry at her family, at her father and thus, herself. Another part wondered whether or not they knew that they’d clearly fallen so far to en up on the same level as the people responsible for so much of their suffering.

She didn’t bother to try and lift her head this time.

She knew she was going to get hit either way.

Adam balled his gads-damned fist up again after a beat or two, growling something she guessed was either pure venom and spite or simply derogatory toward her under his breath. His fist hit her again, making heavy contact with her upper abdomen. The force of the hit was enough to wind her, it felt like he had manually pushed all air from her lungs as she gasped, trying to regain the lose oxygen and refill her lungs. But no other hits came for her, thankfully, as she took the precious time to her her breath back. After a few more breaths, she looked up at him.

“It’s a shame that I can't do much else without ruining the surprise for Blake.” He tilted his head at her before bending down to her height, forcing her to look him in the eye, to look directly at the brand that marked him eternally. He brought a hand up to brush a finger over her scar. It was a stroke of misfortune that she had nowhere to pull away to. “As I’m sure you already know, your father gave me this brand. It’s a shame he marked you to, I would have loved to see his face if we were to mirror each other.”

She moved her head back a few inches, away from the offending hand as best she could manage. A sneer crossed her features as her eyes turned a Schnee patented glare at him, ice cold. “My father doesn’t care about me the way you think he does. It would have only given him one more reason to be cruel to your people.”

A loud slap resonated throughout the room in the next moment, forcing her head quickly and violently to the side. She could feel the stinging throughout her nerves as her cheek began to turn rose red. With a sociopath like Adam in a position of power, Weiss could understand why Blake left the White Fang, and Adam.

“I thought I told you not to speak.” He sighed in boredom as he stood back up to his full height. “In two and a half hours, Vale  _ will _ fall to me and the Faunus will be one step closer to a real home without Humans in charge. With your death-...”

“Forgetting the deal already Adam?” Cinder cut the faunus off as she strode into the room, Emerald and Mercury flanking her each side. The atmosphere turned cold. “You are not to kill her. Salem wants her alive and unlike the Sienna Khan incident, if you kill the whelp it will not be forgiven.”

Weiss looked at Cinder to watch the woman’s advance on Adam. She was flaunting every bit of the Fall Maiden’s power that Salem practically given to her. Her unnatural air made Weiss nauseous as she marched closer to the pair of them, the Maiden’s power glinting in her eyes. She was daring Adam to go against her. Against Salem. A quick glance to the man and Weiss knew that Cinder had already won whatever non-verbal conflict they were having. She always did win, there was a reason she was Salem’s most prized pawn.

Weiss was never as glad as she was then to know that Salem wanted to keep her alive.

“...If I must.” Adam frowned. “As long as I get Belladonna and Xiao Long.”

“Don’t worry, my dear Adam Taurus, you’ll have your prize by the nights end.”

 

***

 

Emerald frowned sullenly as she exited the room with Cinder and Mercury. It was a strange, unnatural feeling to be concerned about someone other than Cinder. But she had to grudgingly admit that the Schnee girl had grown on her in the past few years. Considering she was the only one who actually  _ showed _ that she cared. She knew Cinder cared, she just didn’t show it. When she did it was in pure Cinder style. But seeing Schnee in such a state hurt for some reason.

It was disconcerting.

“You’re quiet Emerald.” Cinder asked as they entered ‘their’ assigned room. It was mainly Cinders truth be told, she and Mercury were just allowed to sleep there. It was old, crumbling and Emerald was fairly certain that it was not meant to be slept in when it was built if the broken copy machine was anything to go by. “Is something wrong?”

“I just...it’s nothing.” She looked anywhere except Cinder as the older woman turned to face her, after the door closed behind them.

“Tell me.” Cinder’s voice turned harsh and cold. She hated it when Cinder got in a bad mood like this, it usually meant someone was going to get hurt if she didn’t get what she wanted. 

Reluctantly, Emerald accepted that she had to tell Cinder. It wasn’t worth the pain she would get for displeasing the woman. “I just don’t know if this is the right course of action. I don’t think we should be letting him do that to her.”

_ SLAP! _

Emerald winced as the hand hit her, a harsh stinging staring up in her cheek. She brought a hand up to cover the impact area, as if it would somehow help (it wouldn’t) or protect it from another assault (which she doubted). She hissed as she felt the pain grow in intensity for a few moments, her nerves screaming out for relief.

“As I have told you  _ repeatedly _ before. Don’t think.  _ Obey _ . Am I clear Emerald?” Cinder growled, her tone angered and venomous.When Emerald didn’t respond, her voice grew louder, like an agitated Grimm. “Am I clear?!”

“Crystal clear!” Emerald whimpered in fear, shying away a little. But the response seemed to placate the woman, at least temporarily. The cowering girl continued to look away, scared. But Cinder was doing this because she cared. Of course she cared. She was the  _ only one _ who cared, apart from the Schnee but she had always been more of a captive audience.

“Good. Now go get ready, we have a wild night ahead of us.”

And Emerald obeyed.

 

***

 

Blake tapped her foot impatiently as they waited at the edge of the square. She was anxious, wondering what exactly Adam had planned. It was unnerving, not knowing. But unfortunately no-one had been able to get any sort of idea as to what this surprise of his was. She was thankful for Yangs presence though, their hands locked together, keeping each other grounded. Both of their past interactions with Adam had left more than physical scars, and even now they were still dealing with them. But at least they could deal with them together.

As if sensing her nervousness, Yang squeezed her hand gently, reminding her that she was still there even though she didn’t need reminding. Ever since Haven, Yang was always there. Even when Ruby left after the disastrous attack, Yang stayed with her. Sure, that was probably also down to the fact that Ruby simply disappeared and communicated with them very little, but she knew that some of it was down to Yang not wanting to leave her side.

“He won't get us Blake.” Yang’s voice softly reassured her, and Blake felt a little bit of her nervousness leave her. 

“I know. It’s just…” She turned her head to look at Yang, her face a mixture of expressions.

“You’re worried about what he has planned? And why he’s going do it so dramatically?” The blonde offered.

“Yeah. That.” Blake swallowed. “What he’s capable of makes this...hard to gauge. It could be anything. He could have gotten his hands on Illia or Sun or...maybe he’s going to threaten to blow something up and I-”

Yang’s lips on hers cut off her through process. The kiss was soft, gentle, reassuring. Something so unlike Yang, but at the same time it was completely her as well. A reminder of how gentle and quiet Yang could be if she really wanted to be. So when the kiss ended, Blake could only grumble at the loss of contact.

“Better?” Yang grinned proudly.

“Much. Not...completely but…”

“Then my work is done, fair lady.” Yang chuckled.

“So chivalrous. My fiery Dragon Knight.” Blake smiled back. Even in the face of the unknown, Yang always managed to make her feel more confident about it. After all, they’d faced much worse than a Faunus and his delusions of grandeur, even if he did have Salem’s backing. And with their fearless team leader ready to help them out if anything went wrong, she could definitely say that things were in their favour.

She leaned up to give Yang another quick kiss, savouring the quiet moment between the two of them, for luck naturally. They would need it, regardless of who they had on their side. But as their kiss deepend, they forgot that there where people who could very clearly see what they were doing from up above.

_ “Guys I can see you from up here and it is making me very uncomfortable.” _ Ruby’s voiced squeaked quickly into their ears, the suddenness of the sound making them jump apart as if they were naughty teenagers doing something they really shouldn’t have been.

“Oops?” Yang offered apologetically.

Blake could only shake her head and laugh quietly.

 

***

 

The red-cloaked girl sighed as she move the sight of her weapon away from Blake and Yang who had thankfully stopped their canoodling session. She supported them every step of the way, of course she did, but after spending so long with Winer it felt almost unprofessional of them to start doing that less than ten minutes before Adam’s big surprise. She settled her weapon to focus back onto the stage before going through her last minute checks as the clock on her scroll ticked torturously slowly to 7:27pm.

Extra ammo for Crescent Rose? Check. Extra dust for Myrtenaster? Check. Back up extra’s for both of them? Check. Night vision goggles? Double check. Everything was one-hundred percent combat ready, should the need to engage hostiles arise. And she was ninety percent certain that they would in fact need to engage. She wasn’t going to mess this up, her team was counting on her and she would not, she refused, to fail them again. Her emotions from earlier now at bay, she knew that she could manage it. Their, albeit brief, time mourning as a team had certainly cleared the air enough to give her room to properly concentrate on the task at hand which, at the moment, was keeping an eye on the stage.

So far there had been relatively little activity in the area. She’d noticed some of Adam’s White Fang getting into positions around the square that certainly wouldn’t give them any help if it came down to it. There were a few of the remaining civilians around, though from what Ruby remembered being told, they didn’t remain willingly. Either they didn’t have the means, money or opportunity to leave the now war-torn city. She could still pick out Blake and Yang out of the corner of her eye, trying to blend in as civilians on the other side of the now ruined square. Thankfully they weren’t smooching anymore at least.

It felt like it was a lifetime ago when both she and Weiss where in the very same square, having a cup of coffee together as they discussed now meaningless topics. It almost was a lifetime really, six years was a long time.

Too Long.

But that didn’t matter, not right now.

The sight through her scope did.

_ “You ready Rubes?”  _ Yang’s voice came through her earpiece, loud and clear.

“Ready.” She checked her weapon one last time before she got everything in position. Crescent Rose was in it’s rifle form, sight focused on the stage. It was a perfectly clear view, if a little dark. But if she had to make a shot or two, nothing was going to get in the way, except an aura most likely, or perhaps a weapon. Blake had mentioned how fast Adam could be with his own, and she was not going to make that mistake, especially with his semblance.

She took a deep breath as the seconds continued to tick by, and she was once again thankful of Myrtenaster’s reassuring weight on her side.

She could feel the adrenaline already flowing into her system as Adam walked onto his shoddy, makeshift platform with two of his men. Instead of his usual mask, he was wearing a blindfold over his eyes, for what reason she wasn’t entirely sure. Blake never did tell her why he insisted on always wearing the mask, though from the looks of things the blindfold wasn’t doing anything to diminish his vision in any way. He had a smug, ego fueled smile on his face as he looked over the very small crowd in the mostly empty square. His voice came over the comms, she figured either Yang or Blake were making sure that they could hear him.

_ “Blake. I know you’re there.” _ He called out, looking over the crowd once more.  _ “I have a gift for you, and I promise you’ll love it.” _

_ “Well that doesn’t sound ominus at all.”  _ Yang muttered into her comm.

The pair didn’t move from their position, waiting to see what would happen while Adam stood stoic on the stage. Ruby recalled what Winter had said about posture, and from his she could see him simply  _ radiate _ arrogance. He thought he had a trump card, clearly. Something that gave him some sort of edge but without knowing him like Blake knows him, she couldn't even begin to guess what it was he had in store.

_ “Come on Blake, I don’t have all night...and neither does she.” _

“She?” Ruby whispered hastily. She didn’t really need to whisper, and she knew that, but old habits always did die hard.

_ “I don’t know...he hasn’t-...wait there’s movement.”  _ Blake commentated.

Ruby kept her sight trained on the stage. Just as Blake said, there was indeed movement from behind the stage. A woman in a red dress, black hair and a scarred visage. From the hidden arm, Ruby could guess who it was. 

“Cinder.” She growled under her breath. What was she doing here? But before she took the shot, she noticed that the woman held something in her head. A rope from the look of it. 

She watched and waited as Cinder tugged on the rope. A flash of stark white hair and torn, almost shredded gray fabric caught her eye. In a second, she was frozen looking at them as they were pulled onto the stage. She recognized the remains of the blood-stained dress. The hair. The face that came into her view. There was bruises marking her face, dried blood that ran from her nose to her chin. The the scar was still there, still plainly visible, Everything was, even in the low light from the street lamps that still worked. Pale, ice-blue eyes scanned their surroundings as their owner was forced to her knees roughly a meter away from the deranged, red-haired faunus.

“Yang-” Her voice broke.

_ “I see her Ruby.”  _ She could hear the pain in her sisters voice. The shock. The disbelief.

_ “I...but how…”  _ Blake’s voice joined into their confusion, and horror as they took in the appearance of their old friend.

Ruby couldn’t breath. She was  _ dead _ , right? They had all been there when it happened. They all had seen the torn rags that had been left. She was  _ gone _ . But-

But there was no body to be found.

_ “IS THAT WEISS?!” _ Jaunes voice blasted into the channel without warning. The sound made Ruby wince as it bled through her ear piece. 

Perhaps if it were any other time, she would have told him to calm the hell down, to be quiet while she thought. Anything. But she couldn’t. Her voice refused to work. Everytime her mouth mover, it was like she couldn’t get enough ait in to make the words make sounds. It was like a nightmare. She couldn’t move. She was frozen in place. The world kept moving but she couldn’t move with it. Like every other bad dream she’d ever had.

But it was like they had told her that her mother had been killed in the line of duty…

She was wide awake.

_ Ruby. _

She could still remember the sound of Weiss’ voice. Barely, almost faded into the nothingness of her memories. But it was still there, still with her. The playful insults. The nicknames. The smiles. Everything.

_ Ruby! _

It was like she was still saying her name.

_ RUBY. _

But that wasn’t Weiss calling her.

_ “RUBY!” _

It was Yang.

“Yang?” She blinked, forcing herself out of the state that had gripped her in it’s tight, unyielding grasp.

_ “Ruby what do we do? We can’t leave her!” _ Yang was right. They couldn’t leave her. Not now, not ever.

_ “But...how do we know that it’s really her? That this isn't a trick or-”  _ Blake cut in. Her voice was higher, full of worry. But she was right, that might not be  _ their  _ Weiss. They didn’t know what had happened, they didn’t know if that was something pretending to be Weiss or if Weiss herself was going along with some sort of charade. But that was it, wasn’t it? They  _ didn’t _ know.

“We don’t.” Ruby her herself say. Her shock, her fear, replaced by an unbridled anger. By a hatred born from her soul. Her friend, her partner, was alive. She knew that, somehow. She knew that it had to be her. Her partner, who was battered and bruised. She could see the lack of muscle on the girls figure, though she wasn't completely devoid of it thankfully. She had scars that Ruby never recalled her having. She could feel Winter’s voice, heard it encourage her to take the role of Leader, Team Leader, once again. She could hear it in her own voice as she spoke. “It might be her, it might not. But we can’t find out while she’s down there. Team JNR, get here as fast as you can. Professor, I need medical personnel on standby. Yang, Blake...get closer to the stage. Distract him. I’m going for Cinder. Once she’s down, we can get Weiss out of there.”

_ “You got it Rubes.” _

_ “We’re on our way.” _

_ “I’ll get everything ready here.” _

“Let’s make it happen.”

She looked around the stage. Cinder had take up position with Emerald and Mercury toward the back of the stage, a dark, excited grin plastered on her face as Adam picked up his angry tirade. Cinder was going to  _ pay _ for this. Real Weiss or not. This was a low blow, and Ruby was ready to make sure she paid for it.

_ “The Schnee family has proclaimed it’s invulnerability for far too long. Years ago, we proved that they were like us, mortal. So Blake, are you going to come on out with you friend so we can sort out our unfinished business? Or am I going to have to prove that the Schnees bleed once again?” _

He drew his blade, it’s red metal glinting in the limited light as it rested an inch, if that, away from Weiss’ cheek. The ex-heiress turned her head away, but the position on her knees, hands tied securely behind her back, limited her options greatly. It just made Ruby all the more angry.

She stood up from her position, folding Crescent Rose away and placing her baby on her back. In a motion that had become so familiar to her after so long, she drew Myrtenaster from its place on her side with her left hand while patiently watching as Yang and Blake walked to the stage. She pulled her goggles down, making the view clearer to her. She could feel the smirk on Adam’s face from there, and rage continued to boil inside of her as her cape flapped quietly in the soft wind, rose petals coming off of it from her semblance. She was ready. She spun the dust chamber on her weapon, and waited for it to click in place. Moments passed by as she watched, words exchanged between the small group. But even as it came over the comms, she could only focus on Weiss. 

And when she saw that Yang and Blake were ready for her to make her move, when she saw them remove their hood, she marked her target, narrowing her eyes as she zero’d in on the Fall Maiden that had taken so much from her.

She leapt.

Silent as death, apart from her cape.

And she landed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope y'all will come back next week to enjoy chapter 5 where we find out if our valient heros can indeed save dear Weiss from her predicament. See y'all then!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunited at last! But can they get Weiss away from her captors?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being 23 days late, I had a lot of trouble with this chapter cause my grandfather ended up in hospital where they have no wifi on the wards and then some unforuntate things at Uni. But don't worry! With this, I am only 2 chapters behind schedule, so I'll put them out as and when they're done until I'm back on schedule!  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this one!

The moment that the faint flapping of fabric reached Weiss’ ears, she knew that something was most certainly up, but it was drowned out by the anticipation that filled her heart, and pounded in her ears, as two distinct hooded figures walked up to the front of the stage. She could already see glimpses of the bright, bouncy yellow mane that was so clearly Yangs poking out from the hood, and the two points under the other that was a clear sign of Blakes well-groomed ears. But as much as she wanted to see them, she also didn’t. At least in that moment. If Adam’s blade hadn’t been so close to her cheek, she might have yelled at them to leave now, she might have screamed and begged and pleaded them to turn back before it was too late. As much as she wanted to see them again, the price he was asking wasn’t worth it.

And yet it still didn’t stop the relief that flooded into her heart as Yang, with her strong and commanding voice, spoke clearly.

“I told you to leave us alone.”

Weiss heard clearly the tell-tale  _ click _ as Ember Celica extended into it’s full form, as Yangs prosthetic armed itself. 

“Let her go Adam.” Blake’s voice was low in tone, angry and dangerous as she lifted her head, amber eyes boring deeply into him. Despite their signal of danger, Weiss couldn’t help the joy that she felt as seeing their yellow hue once more.

“You know I can’t do that Blake. Surrender to me, and she will not be harmed any further, at least by me. It’s a small price to pay, but isn’t it worth it? Her safety, for your surrender.” He flashed his prize-winning smirk, trying to seem reasonable. But even she knew, from the expressions of her old teammates, that he wasn’t going to get what he wanted. Not by a long shot.

As their exchange of veiled venom-filled words halted, Weiss could smell the scent of roses that filled the air. It was faint, at first, but there nonetheless. It quickly grew in strength however, and it made her heart jump. It was a scent that was seared into her memory from her time in Team RWBY, something that she remembered all too well. A scent that, while at Beacon, she always got a healthy dose of in the mornings. And suddenly, everything seemed a little less daunting as Yang and Blake, together as one, pulled their hoods down. Blake pulled her weapon from her sheath, the blade still bearing the marks where Ruby had fused them back together with extreme care. Yang’s eyes were a burning, blazing red. Red like the roses that she could smell.

“No Adam. It’s not.” Blake spat.

Time seemed to slow as a red mass fell from above, just out of her periphery, accompanied by the loud flapping of fabric and dozens of red rose petals swirling around them. The mass landed behind her, thudding loudly on something flesh. A surprised yell came from it’s unfortunate victim.

Weiss snapped her head around to look at the commotion, to the red-cloaked figure who knelt on the disorientated Cinder. The figure held a silver blade in their hand, extending it outward and pointed to the ground. It was a blade she knew well, in a black-and-red gloved hand she knew more-so. 

She took the moment of distraction from Adam to shuffle back a few inches, out of the immediate range of his weapon. The faunus was unequivocally taken off guard by the figure, who rose to their feet slowly, with all the grace of Death itself.Weiss’ breath froze in her throat as the head of the figure rose, meeting her eyes, the silver orbs softening for a moment as they made contact with her own before they looked to Adam, turning from doe eyes to those of a predator, ready to strike. An expert flick of the blade sent him flying back, the wind dust doing it’s part. There was a loud  _ crack _ as he hit one of the buildings off to the side.

“Ruby.” Weiss breathed.

“Weiss.” The figure turned it’s head back to the Atlesian and smiled, sliver eyes once again meeting her own ice blue. Ruby was  _ here _ , practically by her side. Ruby was right in frotn of her, and there could be no doubt about it. The younger girl looked markedly different, older. Probably because she hadn’t seen her in three years, Weiss reasoned. She was bound to look different. The moment didn’t stop her eyes from flicking to the scene behind the girl however, her eyes catching oddly quick movement.

Her breath caught in her throat as she called out in realisation, and panic. “Ruby!”

Ruby caught on, thankfully, and followed Weiss’ line of sight and turned, in a flash brining up Myrtenaster to block the incoming strike from a recovered Cinder, who had alrteady formed one of her signature glass swords and intent on aiming at the middle of Ruby’s back. But all she got was a  _ clang _ as glass met metal. Her eye widened for a moment as she registered that her attack had been stopped before her face morphed into an expression of fury. Ruby heaved her back a few steps before squaring up. Weiss watched as Ruby took the oh-so familiar position that had been her own style years ago, head up, shoulders back, foot forward, blade at the ready. She watched still as the dust cartridge spun, and then Cinder turned her gaze to her.

“You little bitch.” Cinder growled, her well aimed words striking at the fear Weiss held.With a flourish of her blade she took a daring, menacing step forward. Weiss instinctively leanred back before a bright, blinding white light stopped the woman in her path, blinding those within it’s reach for a moment before as quickly as it had appeared, it receded. Replaced by Cinder’s cutting cries of pain.

When her eyes had re-adjusted back to the low light level, Weiss could see plainly that Cinder was on her knees, weapon long gone. Instead she clutched her arm where she knew that the human and grimm flesh met. Her voice was screeching, a piercing sound that stabbed into Weiss’ brain as black smoke seeped out and disipated from Cinder’s sleeve. The sounds of her pain force all eyes in the area to her direction, to see Ruby stalk toward her with a deadly, militaritic grace that Weiss had never seen from the girl before, but found that she intensely liked. Even if it did seem familiar.

Ruby raised the glinting blade in her hand, ready to strike the Fall Maiden down swiftly. She swung her arm downward, but instead of striking Cinder as she had intended, Emerald was already there with her own weapon, blocking Myrtenasters path. A moment passed before Mercury and Hazel joined her, hastily pulling Cinder to her feet before backing away as hurried foot falls made their presences known on the other side of the square. Weiss watched as Emeralds eyes darted between Ruby and herself before the green-haired girl pulled away, ocvering the retreat her weapons drawn toward Ruby defensively.

A saddened feeling filled Weiss as she watched them go, Emerald leaving to continue her time with Cinder. She birefly wondered if Emerald would ever consider outrightly leaving Cinder and her ilk far behind. She like to think so. Emerald may have joined up with the wrong crowd initially, but Weiss could tell that there was something still inside of her that was kind and good, if only a bit buried beneath the malicious machinations and manipulations of Cinder and Salem. 

Satisfied with her work, Ruby turned back to Weiss in an instant as Blake and Yang turned back to Adam. The familiar eyes of Ruby gleamed as they once again met with the ice blue that were Weiss’ own. Ruby walked around behind the bound woman and flicked the blade neatly, swiftly severing the ropes that had held her movements still.

“Thanks.” Weiss smiled as she pushed herself up to her feet, keeping her eyes firmly on Ruby, as if she would disappear as soon as she turned away. She didn’t want this to be some sort of cruel dream, it couldn’t be. If it were, she was syre that her soul would be forever crushed. She wouldn’t put it past Salem to come up with some sort of plan to do so. But Ruby remained in front of her. 

“You’re alive.” Ruby almost whispered, reverence in her tone. “You’re here but..how-?”

“It’s a long story Ruby I...but it’s not one for here.” Weiss sighed. Before she could continue, their attention was pulled away to the side.

“Stay down Adam!” They heard Blake growl dangerously, diverting their full attentions fully to the commotion. Blake had her weapon drawn, pointing toward the Faunus who was at present pushing himself up from the groun in spite of the threat. Blake floushied the weapon in warning as he laughed, the sound devoid of amusement. Instead it was filled with a wretched malice as he dusted himself off as if the entire situation was a minor inconvenience.

“Oh Blake, how I’ve  _ missed _ you.” He smiled with a venonmous grin.

 

Yang wanted to wipe that stupid grin off of his overly stupid, immensly punchable face. She was sick of him continously trying to one up them or harm Blake, and, right now, the rest of her team. It had gotten old a long time ago, back when they;d entered this damned stalemete in Vale. But he’d givem them Weiss back, albeit unintetionally, assuming that it was really her of course. So maybe, just maybe, his idiocy was worth something. He kept his head turned toward Blake though, looking to her as if he’d won in some way.

“Surrender Adam. You’re outnumbered.” The blade in her hand shook slightly, as adrenaline coursed through her veins. Yang glanced behind them as Ruby arrived next to them, placing a hand on Blake’s shoulder as if to imbue her with some kind of strength.

“I don’t think so. But if you’re willing to listen to reason, Salem is going to be wantin her toy back I’m sure.” He chuckled coldly, turning his covered gaze to Weiss for a moment as she walked up to them, and then back to Blake.

“I’m  _ not _ going back to her.” Weiss muttered in nervous defiance. Yang wasn’t sure if Adam caught her words, but if he did then he didn’t show it. But the Atlesian was right, she  _ wasn’t _ going back to Salem, one way or another.

“So what’s it going to be Blake? I doubt that, even with all your little friends, that you could beat me again. Save me the trouble and just give it up.” He picked up his fallen weapon, brandishing it at the group.

“She’s not a toy Adam,” Blake growled as she settling into her combat stance, Yang following suit with her own, “but if you insist on  _ dying _ , then I’m more than happy oblige.”

Ruby stood with them stoically, her grip on Myrtenaster tightening. They all held their positions for a moment, each side wondering who would be bold and brazen enough to make the first, defineing move. The air was tense between them, charged with long-fuelled, simmering anger ready to boil over.

It was Adam that eventually made the first move, pulling his blood-soaked blade up and moveing forward quickly beofre trying a hard, vertical swing directly at Blake. But she was faster, bringing Gambol Shroud up in a masterfully quick block as Yang and Ruby, mirror images, rushed forward with their weapons raised, already forcing him to go on the defensive. He pulled his weapon back to block the incoming strike on his left side from Ruby and Myrtenaster. A three sided assault was hard to defend agai8nst however, and especially hard in such close quaters. Yangs punching prostetic reminded him of that as hit made hard contact with his lower right side, drawing a suprised grunt from him. For the girls, it was a start.

He pushed Ruby’s blade away as quickly as he could before attempting a wide, horizontal arcing slash to try and force the three of them away, but even as both Ruby and Blake were force back, his blade never had been able to cut through the the metal arm that now blocked it. A quick, strategic adjustmnet ot the positioning of her arm, and Yang held the blade that was now firmly in her metal hand. It was enough to give her sword weilding teammates an opening. Blake and Ruby, seizing the oppertunity, sliced at him. If he had been someone without an Aura, then the hits would have made sure that he was a deadman. It was enough to wind him for a moment before he recovered, and started straining to free his trapped sword. Yang faintly heard Weiss fiddling with something behind them, muttering in fustration.

Adam growled and opted for a different approach when he realsed the blade would not be freed under his sheer strength alone. He lashed out with his foot sharply, nailing Yang in the stomach. The force of the hit forced her back a few steps, the blade falling from her iron grip. With his weapon now freed, Adam took adantage of the situation and sliced back toward Blake. The cat faunus blocked as Ruby took a calculating step back, trying to get a better approximation of the situation.

“Just give up Blake, you can’t win.” He continued to growl.

Yang circled around him in a flanking attempt as Blake pushed him blade away. Even with Ruby, this was going to be a difficult fight. She spied Weiss as she moved, fiddlign with the odd, black cuff on her wrist. She resolved to ask her about it later while she returned her focus to the immediate threat in front of her, though it seemed that he was very intent on engaging Blake when he tried for another vertical attack that she once again blocked, arams shaking to keep up the pressure agaisnt Wilt has he continued to bear down on her.

Just as Ruby moved to strik down at him from the other side, move as quick as she dared, he moved once again. Move back to let Blake stumble, he slashed out with Wilt, charged with all of the stored energy from the fight so far in use. It hit the smaller girl head on, and with no time to at least try to block it, she was sent flying into a wall a fair wasy behind her.

“ _ RUBY!” _ Weiss screeched. Yang noted from the corner of her eye that she was fiddling with the cuff more frantically as she raced after their leader, her fear taking control as she disapeared from Yangs view to where Ruby was, presumably. Glancing around further, she saw Team JNR approaching cautiously, weapns drawn at the ready and eyes all firmly on Adam. She held out her hand, making a small motion for them to stop. This fight weas Team RWBYs, and there was no need for the others to gety involved just yet. But her distraction was enough of an opening for Adam to sieze as he charged at her, like an angry agitated bull as his blade came across in a downward diagonal strike from her right. But before he could make contact, Blake was already there, already pressing her blade agaisnt his in Yangs defence.

Sensing her time to attack, Yang pressed forward quickly, lashing out with her leg as she struck him right between his own, hitting his groin full on. He let out a yelp of surprise and pain before stumbling bacl, hand clutching himself protectively as he tried to deal with the pain. Yang thought that it was mightily unfortunate that he didn’t drop his weapon as well but then, you couldn’t have everything. Blake stepped toward him, bringing Gambol down vertically in a strike that he was only just able to parry away.

“Why do you always make everything so difficult for me Blake?” He huffed.

“Just go to hell Adam.” Blake shot back as she went in for a close slice at his abdomen, only to find that his blade was once again waiting for her, blocking the attack.

“Why must you continue to wound me?” He retored, pushing the attacking weapon away as he went on the offensive with words instead of Wilt. “Why? It would be so much  _ easier _ if-”

“If  _ nothing _ . We told you to leave us alon! You’ve done this to yourself!” Blake’s ears flattered agaisnt her read angrily, her ambers eyes shining like a dangerous fire, about to get out of control.

Yang stood straighter beside her, silently offering her suppter as her hands clenched, ready to defend either of them if it was necessary. She had no idea what was going on with Ruby and Weiss, but she hoped to the gods that her little sister wasn’t badly hurt. If she was, Adam was going regret it for a  _ very _ long time, longer than she hoped he already would for hurting Blake. Her thoughts of worry were apparetnly for nought however, as a rush of red petals suddenly materialized behind Adam silently. It was within moments that all eyes were drawn to his left wrist as something metalic clicked down onto it.

His aura instantly cracked and faded as the cuff locked firmly into place before he could even think to react to the action. The immediate difference was clear, as his posture dropped slightly in fatigue while a black glyph, so familiar to the three, closed around him, binding his arms together, unable to move them to his own defence. It was enough of a sign to Blake, who stepped forward as she thrust Gambol Shroud forward, right into Adam’s chest.

The intrusion through his chest drew from him a shattered gasp from his winded lungs, the strength in his body draining away like the blood that leaked out and stained the fabric of his tunic as he began to slump and fall. Before he ended up on top of her, Blake stepped abck and away, drawing her now blood-soaked blade from his chest as he fell, the glyph fading. Blood, red as roses, ran down the bladeas she let it droop tiredly to the side, the drops of blood pooling on the pavement below, eventually mingling with the blood that was pooling around his dead defeated form. Blake stood stock still as she watched the life drain from him, thankful for the blindfold covering his eyes, even as it becomae soaked with his own blood.

They heard the soft footsteps of bare feet come slowly closer from behind, accompanied by ragged, heavy breaths. As the person got closer, Yang was able to finally tear her eyes away from the corpse of the long-hated faunus to look at the rag-doll like girl who then stopped to lean tiredly on a nearby wall to try and catch her breath.

She was thinner than Yang remembered, barele able to see any kind of real muscle on her frame, now that the fading adrenaline allowed her to get a proper look at her old friend. Her once pristine white hair was messy, held loosely in a matted ponytail so much unlike the prefect hair she’d seen when they’d first met. Her face held the beginnings of bruises that were starting to form, while the remenants of dried blood stood out against the overly-pale skin, just below her nose and mouth.

The familiar combat dress was now in utter tatters, it was amazing that it was even still holding together from the look of it. More so that it was still in decent enough contion to at least cover the vital areas, though she could see the plain evidence of emergency repair jobs to allow even that much for it. But even in it’s torn and half-repaired form, the blonde had no trouble finding the heavy blood stains on the dress, with cuts that framed the matching scars. And yet, the eyes of her old friend were still the same, brightly cold ice blue.

Ruby rushed forward in an instant, breaking the frozen moment as she bowled into the clearly frail girl, engulfing her in a hug Yang had rarely seen Ruby give to anybody. The surprised yelp was almost amusing.

Blake tore her gaze from the corpse to look at the pair with Yang. Lilac eyes jumped to the cat faunus, taking one of Blakes hands in her own, squeezing it gently. They watched as Weiss slowly reciprocated the hug that Ruby was giving. Yang smiled a little at the sight.

“Ruby I...can’t breathe.”

“Oh! Right..” Ruby puled back quickly, face red. “Sorry. Heh. I’m just...I’m really happy you’re not dead. I-”

Weiss stepped forward as Ruby, her hand coming up to cup Ruby’s cheek and cutting the caped girl off from her rambling before it could start. He thumb wiped at an apparent tear that was starting to roll down Ruby’s cheek. “I missed you to.” She turned her head to look at Yang and Blake. “All of you. You probably have questions…”

“Let’s get you home first princess. You need rest, clearly.” Yang let go of Blakes hand and walked over, Blake following her. She picked up Weiss with ease, pulling another yelp from the girl. “You’re lighter than I remember.”

Blake rolled her eyes, trying for a playful tone, but it was half-hearted. “She’s been insisting on carrying people places.”

The ex-heiress huffed but accepted the explanation as they made their way out of the square. Yang pretended not to notice Ruby’s hand locked onto Weiss’ own.

 

***

 

As soon as they had entered into the base, the newly-reunited team were whisked off to the medical bay, sort of. It was more that the walking members refused to leave Weiss’ side after carrying her all the way back, which Yang didn’t mind doing one bit. Despite her outward annoyance at being carried, Weiss had eventually settled and rested her head on the blonde’s shoulder.

The Schnee was absolutely exhuasted, and Yang couldn’t blame her for that. She kiiked like she had been through a helluva lot since they;d last seen her, but Yang refused to think about what  _ exactly _ might have happened, at least for now. But she did make a silent vow to make sure whomever was responsible for the very visible scars paid for them. Other than that, right now they didn’t need that kind of negativity, especially with Jaune’s paranoia insisting that they make sure that though it  _ was _ indeed Weiss (the glyph was proof enough of that, thankfully), that she was still on their side of the conflict.

She conceeded that it was a fair thing to worry about. She’d been gone for three years, and it was perfectly possible that she had been manipulated into working against them.Yet each time she started to wonder about where Weiss’ true loyalties lie, her mind was always brought back to the present by something. Whether it was by the warmth that was currently pressed against her chest, almost asleep, or the mix of worry and relief in Ruby’s voice, or Blake’s soft hand on her shoulder squeezing in reassurance. The entire thing was just surreal.

The medical bay was thankfully empty as a Medic lead them into one of the cleaner side rooms, though in a half-finished base it was as clean as they would get. It wasn’t the best hospital on Remnant, but it would do. She lay the groggy Weiss down on the thin sheets, Ruby continueing to refuse to let go of her hand as the Medics got to work in checking the girls vitals, doing their best to be as least invasive as possible so that Weiss could sleep. Yang could understand why Ruby would refuse to go. Weiss was her partner after all, and they were always close after they managed to thaw Weiss out at Beacon. Besides, Ruby was doing a good job of keeping out of the way.

Yang and Blake found that neither of them wanted to leave either. The medcis seemed to understand this, ushering them into the corner out of the way rather than forcing them to leave. It became a blur as they carried out their duties, and Yang couldn;t recall when they’d brought some chairs in for her and Blake to sit on. She was too focussed on her teammates to care about much else as she sat down on the incredible uncomfortable blue plastic. Another chair materialized once they medics were done for Ruby next to the bed, which the girl sat down on when she eventually realised it was there.

At sompoint, she vaguely recognised Nora’s form outside of the room, standing guard with Magnhild at the ready, only letting in the healthcare professionals. The gesture was uneeded but, Yang felt warm inside. Nora always went to extremes, it was nice.

When activity in the room had quietended down, Weiss fell quickly to her exhuastion, followed promptly by Ruby who had laid her head on the pillow next to Weiss. It was cute, and Yang wished she could reach her scroll to get a picture, but that would have meant disturbing Blake who was also falling prey to the sweet call of sleep. Yang waited until the faunus was asleep before allowing herself to relax a little bit. A short nap would be fine. Just...a little while...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week: Less action, more talking and waaaay more fluff. Weiss tells the team her experiences, Ruby makes plans to head for Atlas, and Yang helps Blake get through her feelings regarding Adam's death


End file.
